South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), which runs Ann Moss specialist care unit in Rotherhithe, wrote to relatives of residents at the home last week to notify them of its expected closure this August.
The trust said it had concluded the closure was “the right thing to do” in line with national guidance to place emphasis on “long-term community care and short stays in inpatient and specialist care”.
The home, in Ann Moss Way, provides specialist care for adults over 65 who have mental health conditions such as dementia.
Caroline O’Rourke, 43, whose 63-year-old mother Josephine suffers from frontotemporal dementia, said she had made huge improvements since moving to the unit last summer and that the closure could set her back.
“I’ve finally got her in here and I thought it was going to be her forever home; she was really happy and really settled,” said Caroline, who lives in Bermondsey.
“Just last week she remembered how to say my name – she is really coming on and now I feel like it’s going to be detrimental to her – and not just her, all the other people too.
“The people in there are amazing; it’s clean, she’s always got someone to talk to and they take her out.”
Caroline said she was told her mother could be moved to Streatham and that it was too far for her to travel for visits.
“I haven’t slept properly since I got the news – I’m not going to be able to get all the way to Streatham and back,” she said.
“Physically and mentally, are these people able to be moved?”
Article from Southwark News, 22 February 2018